The Ministry of Morale states this as the pinnacle of the Equestrian way of life: Work hard toward winning the war, have a loving patriotic family, and be sound of body and mind. Sounds simple, right? However, for one particular down on his luck unicorn, none of those things have really panned out for him in the way he'd hoped. His job at the munitions plant isn't quite working out, his wife left him, and he's a recovering alcoholic who's not getting any younger. But hey, who needs all of that anyway when he still gets to hang out at his favorite spot in the world every night?

At the end of the war, after the blast of balefire tore his city asunder, a ghoulified Zebra is left to question if his actions were right, and if his punishment is as fitting as the stars have implied it to be. He will have to fight for his life after losing everything, but is there really something left to hope for in the hellish lands that he inhabits, or will he be doomed to an existence of suffering for his sins?

A short Fallout: Equestria sidestory written in an attempt to see how I can do without some of the things I always rely on with a normal fic. I would love to hear any sort of feedback on it, positive or negative, but overall I hope you enjoy it all the same.

Here's a fantastic reading of it done by Plagen Shiki over on youtube if you want to listen along!

My second place entry for the Fallout: Equestria 500 members writing competition, choosing the theme "Before the bombs".

This isn't a tale of great heroism, of any great battle fought hard and won well. Deadbolt Tumbler never really had any driving force in his life, he didn't have a special somepony, he didn't even have any friends. He was content to do his job to the best of his abilities everyday and live out his life in peace as he always had, but the great war was now in full swing, and as it often does, fate decides to intervene. On the afternoon of his 18th birthday, he was drafted to fight for his country, throwing him into a world of new experiences that threaten to shatter his fragile perception of friends, love, and loss. Although he had written them off as nothing more than fables as a colt, he soon comes to see that the monsters from the tales of old, still roam the battlefields before him.

The wonderful youtuber Plagen Shiki has done a marvelous reading of this story! You can find it here if you'd like to listen as you read!